Qwel and Meaty Ogre – Freezer Burner / 2006 Galapagos 4 / 16 Tracks / Qwel & Meaty Ogre / http://www.galapagos4.com / Reviewed 28 January 2007

Qwel and Meaty Ogre are an mc and producer duo. The tracks sound a lot like another independent rapper, MC Homeless, and on “Freezerburner” interesting backing beats work well with the flow that are laid down. The instrumentation that take place during songs like “ID Glue” are Spartan but do their job perfectly; they give the flow a proper canvas to paint on. Qwel and Meaty Ogre are intelligent as they do not provide much in the way of skits; I don’t believe that they would have anyways, as there is a stoic, strong type of flow that continues throughout the entirety of the disc. Qwel and Meaty Ogre are not going to be cracking jokes anytime soon. While each of the early tracks on “Freezer Burner” were decent, it takes Qwel and Meaty Ogre until “I Forgive “Em” to come up with a track that really will inflame the listeners of “Freezerburner”.

The track that immediately follows “I Forgive ‘Em” is “Read Writer”, a much more sedate and calm track that seems to struggle with establishing the dominance of the vocal flow. The repetition of a vocal quote during this track is supposed to act like an additional instrument for the song, but just creates dissonance with the lead flow and makes this track unable to achieve the success that it should. The instrumentation present during “Saved” is very catchy but it is coupled with a flow that is only slightly above average. If it was linked to a flow that was amazing, as can be heard during the disc, the track would be something to put out as a single.

Qwel and Meaty Ogre put a lot of rap on this small disc, but only a few of the tracks stick out for me. It would seem that the best decision that these two could make would be to cut the tracks down to 12 or so and leave off the songs that fail to succeed in the way that “I Forgive ‘Em” does. Perhaps future albums will have a much more pointed focus and allow the act to succeed, but this time, the tracks that individuals have to listen to are few and far between. Grab something from Rhymesayers or any other rap collective and be excited, “Freezerburner” is like a piece of steak that has been freezer burnt. It may taste okay, but it’s not the cut that it could be.

Top Tracks: Fallen Rome, I Forgive ‘Em

Rating: 4.0/10

[JMcQ]